(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an auxiliary handle for use on an elongated rod-shaped handle of a tool.
(b) Description of Prior Art
The use of handles is known from the prior art since many decades to grab tools such as garden tools. Among the existing handles designed to manipulate garden tools, the most commonly known handles comprise an elongated rod portion having the general structure of a shaft at the lower end of which the tool head is grafted. A grip is typically provided at the upper end of the elongated rod handle to facilitate manipulation of the tool. This configuration allows a user to grab the tool by placing one hand on the shaft portion near the head of the tool and the other hand on the other end of the elongated rod handle or on the grip affixed thereto.
One of the major drawbacks associated with this conventional tool handle configuration is the low ergonomic posture of the user and back pain and injuries caused therefrom. To alleviate an inappropriate posture of a user relative to the garden tool, prior art discloses various structural configuration of the elongated rod handle of the tool, as claimed by Blessing, K. C. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,535 for example. It has also been suggested to solve this ergonomic drawback by providing auxiliary handles, fixed on the shaft handle. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,650 to Rutz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,231 to Hoffman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,471 to Lichefield et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,720 to Beckingham, U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,582 to Rocha, U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,475 to Watt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,830 to Nisenbaum, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,728 to Davidson all disclose auxiliary handles fixed on the rod-shaped handle of a garden tool or the like to provide a user with a better holding position. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,627 to Horler reported a handle assembly for a tool for providing an ergonomic handle designed to minimize back strain and injury.
Solution proposed by the prior art may contribute to alleviate the ergonomic problem inherent to the use of garden tool. However, the auxiliary handles proposed by the prior art are for most of them designed to be permanently attached to a shaft-handled tool. Those designed to be removably attached to a garden tool, as provided in U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,627, are unfortunately not designed to be adapted to a wide variety of shaft diameters. Therefore, all solutions proposed in the prior art require that a user be provided with multiple auxiliary handles to be adapted on a range of garden tools, which is less interesting on an economical aspect.
Therefore, it would be highly desirable to provide an auxiliary handle for garden tools, which is removably attachable to the shaft portion of garden tools, adaptable to a variety of shaft dimensions, and easy to produce at low cost.